98 suspected foreigners nabbed with fake Aadhaar cards in Manipur

Police said they had intensified identification of outsiders in and around Imphal on the orders of Home Minister N. Biren Singh. Director General of Police L.M. Khaute said that all vehicles reaching Imphal from Assam, Nagaland and Moreh, the border town, are thoroughly checked to identify the non-local passengers.

Imphal: Manipur Police on Sunday rounded up 98 suspected foreigners with fake Aadhaar cards from the heart of Imphal city during an identification drive, officials said. A police statement said that the raids were conducted in the early hours in two residential areas at Naga Mapal here. The suspects were found staying in rented houses.

Police said they had intensified identification of outsiders in and around Imphal on the orders of Home Minister N. Biren Singh. Director General of Police L.M. Khaute said that all vehicles reaching Imphal from Assam, Nagaland and Moreh, the border town, are thoroughly checked to identify the non-local passengers.

Police said that fake Aadhaar and other documents are printed at two places outside Manipur for supplying to those who plan to enter Manipur. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said that it was most surprising that Rohingyas were found staying at Hatta in the heart of Imphal. He said nearly 40 foreigners who were nabbed at different places are now in prison.

Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh had earlier said that Aadhaar cards are not mandatory for central government employees to get their pension. In the 30th meeting of the Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies here recently, he said Aadhaar is an additional facility to enable the use of technology for submission of life certificate without the need for visiting banks.

His assertion assumes significance as there were reports of some retired employees facing difficulty in getting the pension in the absence of Aadhaar linkage with their bank accounts. If we had a rupee for every time we had an Aadhaar linking confusion, we'd have enough moolah in the bank to quit our jobs and head permanently to Bali. There was a massive issue with people thoroughly confused regarding whether the 12-digit unique identity number was necessary for the procurement of a mobile SIM. Moreover, the availability of massive amounts of contradicting information on the internet didn’t help the cause of clarity either.

The Aadhaar conundrum has caused a massive upheaval in people's lives with leaks being reported of almost every month. The SC had even asked the government how a homeless person would apply for Aadhaar considering they do not have an address proof and other required documents. In fact, reports had emerged last year about people starving to death because of Aadhaar linking failures which had caused obstacles in ration distribution